Read my latest story, "A Tale of Two Birthdays", at 52|250.

A book that lays out the case for prosecuting George Bush for the deaths of American soldiers in Iraq has faced a virtual media blackout. Not only has an author who previously wrote best sellers and Edgar Allan Poe award winning books been ignored by the cable interview circuit (including the Daily Show), major outlets have also refused ads for the book. While some such outlets allow opposition to the war, they draw the line at the idea of there being consequences for those responsible for the war, or to state it more generally, while we are allowed to disagree with the rich and powerful, we are not allowed to penalize them for crimes they may have committed or even to discuss this possibility.

Now, given that this book has become a bestseller through Internet and word-of-mouth advertising, why does this corporate media blackout matter? It matters because Internet advertising tends to be more narrowly targeted: while this sort of campaign can lead to a book becoming a bestseller among people already likely to agree with the book’s contents, it is insufficient to make the book’s ideas part of the mainstream conversation.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.